Emperor Constantine I moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople around A.D. 330. About 100 years later, the Roman Empire in the West fell. The Roman Empire in the East, however, survived and prospered. It became known as the Byzantine Empire and lasted for nearly one thousand years. Its capital, Constantinople, was a wealthy trade center with a multicultural population. Art and architecture blended its diverse cultural influences to produce a specific style that is unmistakably Byzantine. Today, Constantinople is known as Istanbul, and the city retains its eclectic culture by combining ancient styles with modern Islamic influence.
Task 1: Using the handout create a large spider diagram or poster to show what life was like in Constantinople.
Task 2: Review Questions:
1. Why was Constantinople ideally located to be the capital of the Byzantine Empire?
2. What were some of Constantinople’s main features?
These can be answered in bullet points.
Task 3: Research
Using these websites to start (for the first page follow the links on the left) answer the following questions about the Byzantine Empire as the power shift occurred during the 4th century AD from west to east in the Roman Empire.
1. When the Roman Empire evolved into the Byzantine Empire, what changed about the Empire's religion and language? 2. Name the ethnic influences of Byzantine art and architecture. 3. What Byzantine structures are still standing in Istanbul? 4. What did the people of the Byzantine Empire produce for trade with other civilizations?
Emperor Constantine I moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople around A.D. 330. About 100 years later, the Roman Empire in the West fell. The Roman Empire in the East, however, survived and prospered. It became known as the Byzantine Empire and lasted for nearly one thousand years. Its capital, Constantinople, was a wealthy trade center with a multicultural population. Art and architecture blended its diverse cultural influences to produce a specific style that is unmistakably Byzantine. Today, Constantinople is known as Istanbul, and the city retains its eclectic culture by combining ancient styles with modern Islamic influence.
Task 1: Using the handout create a large spider diagram or poster to show what life was like in Constantinople.
Task 2: Review Questions:
1. Why was Constantinople ideally located to be the capital of the Byzantine Empire?
2. What were some of Constantinople’s main features?
These can be answered in bullet points.
Task 3: Research
Using these websites to start (for the first page follow the links on the left) answer the following questions about the Byzantine Empire as the power shift occurred during the 4th century AD from west to east in the Roman Empire.
http://www.turizm.net/turkey/history/thebyzantium.html
http://byzantium.seashell.net.nz/index.php
Met Museum Byzantium
1. When the Roman Empire evolved into the Byzantine Empire, what changed about the Empire's religion and language?
2. Name the ethnic influences of Byzantine art and architecture.
3. What Byzantine structures are still standing in Istanbul?
4. What did the people of the Byzantine Empire produce for trade with other civilizations?
Empress Theodora
Hagia Sophia